What is the golden rule of disability? What should everyone who has ever bet on a race know? That’s a tough question, and before you answer it, do yourself a favor and ask yourself, “If a friend asked me for just one piece of information, just one golden rule of horse racing, what would it be?”
Your answer will probably be based on a bad bet or bad bet you received. Perhaps you bet an exact straight with a long shot and the exact came up the wrong way. The lesson you learned was that you should always box or back your bet. If a long shot is good enough to come in second at high odds, then it’s good enough to win, sometimes. It’s those times that grab us and make us wonder why we played the races.
Another candidate for GR status is based on a bad move that we’ve all probably been guilty of at one point or another. It’s the old “Don’t try to make up your losses with a big bet at the end of the day.” To compound the offense, we often also bet on the favorite thinking that he has a better chance of winning, right? There’s so much money on him, he must be a good horse. That is the worst logic. The reason why punters criticize it is because many other players are also trying to win back their losses.
The truth of the matter is that some days you are going to lose. Chasing losses with bad bets and poor decisions only compounds the problem. Unless you have a good bet on the last race and can get the odds you need, pass the race. There is always fresh (morning).
Yes, “Don’t try to offset your losses with bad bets made out of desperation” is another good candidate for the golden rule.
No article on the golden rule of horse racing would be complete without mentioning money management. Money management is the most important factor in the success of gambling and horse games. I’m not saying you have to be a CPA or an accountant to survive in this tough game, but you do need a plan and you have to stick to it pretty well or you’ll lose any chance of making a profit.
So perhaps another good one is: “Plan ahead and set limits, and use good money management.”
While any of these suggestions would be good advice for your friend, how about this? There is no absolute rule of thumb, but you should keep in mind that it is the situation and the race that requires you to use good judgment based on the conditions of the day?
